The variety of television programming and media content sources continues to increase. In addition to scheduled television program broadcasts, television viewing options also include on-demand choices which enable a viewer to search for and request media content for viewing when convenient rather than at a scheduled broadcast time. A viewer can initiate a search for a list of television programming choices in a program guide (also commonly referred to as an electronic program guide or “EPG”).
A television system can include hybrid client devices that receive off-air television programming over the air via a broadcast network, and receive on-demand and IPTV programming via an IP-based network (e.g., Ethernet). Program guide data for the on-demand and IPTV programming, as well as for the off-air programming, is typically received from various third-party sources. The program guide data corresponding to the on-demand, IPTV, and off-air programming can then be integrated at a content distributor into a comprehensive programming schedule. The comprehensive programming schedule can then be provided to the hybrid television client devices as a program guide via the IP-based network.
A television programming schedule may change unexpectedly, such as to accommodate a sporting event that exceeds its scheduled program time-slot, or for breaking news coverage of a news event that is broadcast in place of one or several regularly scheduled programs. These types of unannounced programming changes to scheduled television programming can be updated at the hybrid television client devices when the client devices receive off-air program guide data that is received along with the off-air programming broadcast to the client devices. However a television programming schedule change may not be readily updated at the content distributor because an update from the various third-party sources may not be received for several hours. An off-air programming schedule change received by a hybrid television client device may then conflict with the comprehensive programming schedule received from the content distributor.
These and other types of programming conflicts can also impact DVR (digital video recorder) settings at a television client device, such as when a DVR is scheduled to record a program that is pre-empted for a long-running sporting event or a breaking news event. The comprehensive programming schedule may not be updated quickly enough at the content distributor to reflect the programming changes in the off-air television programming. In addition, the DVR client device is then left having to reconcile the comprehensive program guide schedule received from the content distributor with the off-air program guide data received over the air via the broadcast network.